The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amended a Venezuela-related General License and extended the expiration date of two Ukraine-related General Licenses, OFAC said in a June 26 notice. OFAC is amending Venezuela-related General License 13A to extend its expiration date to Oct. 25, 2019, the notice said. Both Ukraine-related General Licenses No. 13L and No. 15F are extended until Nov. 8, 2019, OFAC said. General License No. 15F also includes a new authorization “for certain safety-related activity,” the notice said.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., urged President Donald Trump's administration on June 13 not to use U.S. restrictions on Huawei as a “bargaining chip in trade negotiations” with China. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security issued a notice adding Huawei and affiliates to a list of entities subject to export administration regulations beginning May 16 (see 1905160072). BIS issued a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions by Huawei and the affected affiliates through Aug. 19. Trump later said sanctions against Huawei could be part of trade negotiations with China.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amended three Venezuela-related general licenses and issued frequently asked questions for guidance, OFAC said in a June 6 notice. OFAC amended General License 7A, which authorizes certain transactions related to PDV Holding, Inc. and CITGO Holding, Inc; General License 8, which authorizes certain transactions involving Petroleos de Venezuela for entities operating in Venezuela; and General License 13, which authorizes certain transactions involving Nynas AB. The addition to OFAC’s FAQs concerns the export and re-export of “diluents” to Venezuela. Diluents such as crude oil and naphtha "play a key role in the transportation and exportation of Venezuelan petroleum," which is a major revenue source for the regime of Nicolas Maduro, which the U.S. seeks to suppress.
The United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade amended three general licenses related to “maritime anti-piracy,” military goods and Iraq, the department said in a June 4 press release. The first change amends Schedule 1 of the maritime and anti-piracy license “to reflect the change of control entry for non-military shotguns.” The second change amends the general export license for military goods “to allow goods to be moved directly from one exhibition to another” instead of requiring “goods to be returned directly to their origin after a single exhibition event.” The third change amends the general export license for Iraq “to correct a reference to the category of goods to which it applies.”
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 28-31 in case they were missed.
The temporary general license issued by the U.S. after it added Huawei Technologies to its Entity List has offered “almost no relief” for the U.S. semiconductor industry, which has been hurt severely by the move, said John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association. Speaking on U.S.-China trade issues at a Washington International Trade Association discussion on May 29, Neuffer underscored the importance of the Chinese market to U.S. semiconductor exporters and called on the Trump administration to more tactfully negotiate with China. “We would like the U.S. government to better balance its national security concerns with its economic security concerns,” Neuffer said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 20-24 in case they were missed.
The Commerce Department plans to roll back regulations that make it easier for U.S. exporters to sell goods that have both civilian and military purposes, making it more difficult for China to acquire U.S. technology, according to a May 23 report by Politico. As part of its plans, Commerce is considering ending a general policy of approving export licenses for products bound for civilian use, instead switching to reviews on a “case-by-case basis,” the report said. Commerce’s plans include “four regulatory actions” that target China under the Export Control Reform Act, including options that would revoke two license exceptions relating to shipping restricted technology to China and an option that would expand a ban on U.S. defense-related exports to China, the report said.
Foreign manufacturers need to be aware that their products may be covered by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security's listing of telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei on the Entity List, even if they aren't manufactured in the U.S., according to an alert by law firm Sheppard Mullin. U.S. export controls on Huawei and its affiliates may apply to a substantial scope of foreign goods that contain more than 25 percent U.S.-origin content. Under the BIS de minimis rule, products are subject to the Export Administration Regulations -- and consequently new license requirements for Huawei -- if more than one-fourth of the product is composed of U.S.-origin content that is also controlled under the EAR, except for “EAR99 items” or products that do not require a license, the alert said.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is issuing a general license temporarily allowing certain transactions with Huawei and 68 of its affiliates without new licensing requirements set by their recent addition to the Entity List. The general license is scheduled for publication in the May 22 Federal Register, and will remain in effect from May 20 through Aug. 19.